Eight former executives of the troubled Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) have been convened for an appeal held at Hai Phong People's Court today.
At the trial, held on March 30, the former chairman of Vinashin, Pham Thanh Binh was sentenced to 20 years in prison for intentionally violating state regulations during his tenure at the company. The seven others were given sentences between 10 to 19 years.
According to the Hai Phong People's Court, 19 lawyers defended the accused.
The appeal process will last three days.
The former Vinashin executives have been blamed for losses of more than US$43 million, most of which came from the illegal procurement of an Italian-made high-speed passenger vessel and two electric generators.
In December, 2010, the company defaulted on a $60 million installment of a $600 million loan arranged by Credit Suisse in 2007.
Binh admitted during the four-day trial that he had made mistakes, but that they were not for his personal gain.
The State-owned company, founded in 1996, went into bankruptcy in 2009, after accumulating debts exceeding $4.11 billion. The Vietnamese Government has since restructured the company under new management.
The rest of the appellants include the former general director Tran Quang Vu along with six of their alleged accomplices, including Tran Van Liem, the former head of Vinashin's Supervision Committee; Nguyen Van Tuyen, the former director of Hoang Anh Shipping Industry JSC., Trinh Thi Hau, former deputy general director of Vinashin Finance One-member Co. Ltd; Do Dinh Con, former deputy general director of Hoang Anh Shipping Industry Joint Stock Company, To Nghiem, former chairman of Cai Lan Shipping Industry One-Member Co. Ltd. and former general director of Hai Ha Economic Zone Development Investment Joint Stock Company, and Hoang Gia Hiep, former deputy general director of Vinashin Finance One-member Co. Ltd and former director of Shipping Industry Finance Leasing Company.
